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Friday, December 2, 2011

NAACP releases redistricting maps

The state NAACP has released a handful of maps they gave to LATFOR, the committee charged with redistricting the state.

The maps created are just the NAACP's opinions on what they would like see, which would be to ensure the African American population continues to be represented in Congress. They are not the final product.

"The big picture here is to preserve New York's black congressional districts and black New Yorkers' voting rights," NAACP State President Hazel Dukes said in a statement. "I urge our faith and civic leaders, grassroots activists, good government and legal defense groups, politicians and others to join with the NAACP in this fight."

This district would be the 15th Congressional District, which is currently represented by Rep. Charlie Rangel. They also created maps for Queens/Nassau and Brooklyn.

The new district would run from Manhattan's Upper West Side to Marble Hill, through to the reservoir, then up through Norwood and Wakefield to Mount Vernon, also spanning further east to Co-Op City.

This map takes away from Rep. Eliot Engel more than anyone else, which would push Engel--who is white--further into Westchester and Rockland counties. Engel would keep Rivedale, Woodlawn and Van Cortlandt Park but lose Jerome Park Reservoir and everything east and south of Van Cortlandt. He would also lose Mount Vernon.

It would take Co-Op City from Rep. Joseph Crowley, who has parts of the Bronx and Queens.